Day in the Life at Aihara-Okogi's
by Zoop Top
Summary: (Possible) Collection of semi-short drabbles about Yuzu and Mei's married life, following their trials and tribulations of parenthood, because why not?
1. Reasons to Love

**A/N: Confession time, I don't really proofread some of my fics, so as you can guess I rushed this. But anyway, as always, enjoy~**

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Mei had just completed wiping down the table and kitchen counter after dinner was finished. Sighing to herself from accomplishing such a simple cleaning duty, she gently placed the rag she had been using back on the kitchen sink and slowly tread towards the living room couch. While it had been only about four days since Yuzu went away on a business trip, Mei felt like she had been gone for four weeks.

She did get occasional calls and messages from the blonde, usually checking in every now and then, and asking Mei if there were any problems going on. Of course, not to worry Yuzu while she was hundreds of miles away, Mei denied any problems she could be facing being the only parent in the household. She's helped raise their son before, but the task of having to take care of their son on her own felt daunting.

Yuzu had always been the more open and outgoing parent between the two, the kind of parent who showed caring through laughing and sharing experiences. Mei, on the other hand, would often show her love to her son through silent acknowledgement, similar to how a strict, seemingly-emotionless father would. Whenever he would finish his chores on time, she would nod approvingly. Whenever he would get a good grade in class, she would add in a "good job" for his effort. And whenever he excelled well in something, she would give him a pat on the head.

However, Mei often sensed her son feeling as if he wasn't doing enough for his mother. Knowing this, the black-haired woman hated how her mannerisms led him to thinking that way. It was an uncanny resemblance to her younger days when she did everything in her power to satisfy her grandfather and become what others expected of her.

But Mei wasn't exactly emotionless, and Yuzu had often reminded their son of that. Showing love to Yuzu had been one of her biggest challenges during their early days of dating. Now, as a mother, her biggest challenge was showing love to her son. Yuzu reminded her that she didn't need to match her way of showing love and affection to their child. All she needed to do was take care of him the best she can in her own way, and if she was struggling with anything regarding their son, then Yuzu would be there to help guide her through it. After all, they are a family.

Resting and outstretched on the couch, Mei felt her muscles relax after the long day as she placed her arm over her head.

"Only one more day…" she whispered to herself, hoping Yuzu would come home sooner.

Not long after, Mei's thoughts drifted elsewhere while her lashes lowered. But before she could drift off into peaceful slumber, she began hearing faint footsteps heading towards her direction.

Mei slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to find her son clutching Kumagorou.

"Hiroki? What are you still doing up this late?" Mei asked, "it's past your bedtime."

"I can't sleep," and began fiddling with Kumagorou's arms, "I was wondering...can I sleep with you tonight, Mama?"

The last part of his question sounded hesitant, almost expecting his mother to decline and send him back to his room. Mei sensed the hesitation in his voice and felt guilty for his uncertainty. Without any words, she motioned him to lie beside her on the couch.

Holding Kumagorou, Hiroki climbed atop and nuzzled under his mother's chin as Mei sat up to lean against the arm of the couch. She circled her arms around his small frame as he leaned back into her, facing away. Once both of them were at a comfortable position on the furniture, Mei began combing his dark locks with her fingers in an effort to help him fall asleep better.

"Mama?" the small boy asked, "what do you like about mom?"

The question prompted Mei to break out of her near-slumbering trance. Where exactly was this question coming from? It made her worry about any other thoughts her son had towards her as a person as well as her current parenting skills.

"Why do you ask?"

The young boy pondered for a bit before responding, "I don't know...it's just, mom always talks about why she loves you, but I never hear you talk about why you love her."

So, that was the reason. Mei sighed in relief. Although, it did make her reevaluate how she showed her love to Yuzu around their son. Mei had gotten better at being more open and affectionate the further they got in their relationship, but if it gave the impression to him that she didn't love her as much as Yuzu did, then she probably needed to try harder.

But Mei had her own ways of showing how much she loved Yuzu...just not when their child was in the house.

"What I love about her?," she mused as she smiled affectionately, thinking of all the reasons why her wife was the most perfect person in the world, "well, when I first met your mom, she was very clumsy, not exactly the smartest, and tended to get into a lot of trouble." It felt nostalgic reminiscing the many times she called Yuzu out on dress code violations, sleeping in class, and failing many of her exams back in high school.

"But the one thing I've always loved about her," Mei continued, "is her persistent desire to put on smile on other people's faces." Of all people, she would know of that persistence since she was the most difficult of people for Yuzu to put a smile on.

Yuzu had always been so kind and warm, and Mei felt lucky enough that her persistence broke through her previously cold and icy walls.

The next morning, the two were nestled on the couch with Mei's arm over her son, while both his arms held onto Kumagorou.

Mei was faintly awake, but her exhaustion from the long previous day kept her from wanting to move a muscle. Sunlight barely peeked through the windows and she figured it wouldn't hurt to get a little more rest.

She couldn't tell whether or not she heard a clicking noise by the front door, but she was in between consciousness she didn't bother making the distinction.

Before Mei knew it, she felt soft lips on her forehead and delicate fingers brushing her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find emerald irises softly gazing into her.

"Good morning," Yuzu greeted with a whisper, careful not to disturb their son's slumber.

"Good morning," Mei smiled as she used her free hand to bring the blonde's head closer for a kiss.

Their shared kiss was quick and chaste. Mei was still in a daze, not realizing Yuzu was coming home sooner. Had she only known the blonde would be coming home this early she would've prepared something for her last night before dozing off.

Mei looked over to the kitchen and carefully moved Hiroki off of her to cook something, allowing him to occupy most of the couch.

"What are you doing?" Yuzu placed a hand on Mei's shoulder, noticing how wobbly the other woman was getting up.

"You just came home," Mei noted, "I'm assuming you haven't eaten breakfast yet," still motioning to stand from the couch.

"I'll make breakfast," the older woman offered, "you should get some more rest. You look exhausted."

"But…" the dark haired woman tried to argue, but her sore muscles betrayed her. If only she didn't overwork herself the day before. Admitting defeat, Mei sighed and allowed Yuzu to rest her back on the couch. The blonde smiled and placed another loving kiss on her forehead before proceeding to the kitchen.

By the time Yuzu was finished preparing breakfast, Mei had enough energy to stand. Their son was still asleep, curled into Kumagorou and Mei thought it would be best to give him a couple more minutes before starting the day. She got up and walked to the kitchen while Yuzu was placing the plates of food on the dining table.

"I hope you didn't miss me too much," Yuzu teased as she was setting up the table.

As Yuzu finished placing the last plate on the table, she felt arms encircle around her waist from behind and her lover's body heat encompass her own. Mei softly nuzzled into the back of Yuzu's neck, intoxicated by her scent, and left lingering kisses to which the blonde couldn't help giggling to.

"I missed you," Mei murmured in between kisses.

"I missed you too," Yuzu whispered softly after turning to face her wife.

Not long after, the two mothers woke up their son so they could all eat breakfast together. Hiroki gave his mom the tightest bear hug welcoming her home. The three sat at the dining table and Yuzu spent the most of breakfast talking about how her trip went. When she asked the two how their week went, Mei and Hiroki looked at each other in silent acknowledgement and smiled back at the blonde, giving her the impression that there were no worries at all.

After a seemingly-long five days, Yuzu felt like she finally came home. But Mei felt like home came back to her.

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 **A/N: So, ever since I came up with the idea of what Yuzu and Mei's child would probably be like I couldn't help but try writing a couple drabbles about their married/family life, including the rest of the gang involved.**

 **I chose for them to have a son mainly because a daughter in female same-sex couple families has been done many times before and I just thought it would be interesting...interesting in the sense that I just wanted to. The name was something I made a quick Google search with, so to be honest, that might change and I'm hoping I might even be able to draw this character. I was slightly influenced by angel0wonder's fic Branching Out, for having Mei be Hiroki's biological mother since Yuzu can't carry a child herself. Maybe I'll come up with more scenarios to write about Yuzu and Mei's married life, there are endless possibilities ;D**


	2. One Summer's Movie Night

**A/N: It's a rather simple premise, nothing much happens here, but I figured I post something following the previous chapter to show this actually will be a collection of drabbles. Enjoy~**

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While the Aihara-Okogi household viewed themselves as very close-knit family, that didn't necessarily mean there would be some difficulties in finding ample quality time to spend together.

Yuzu tended to have her hands full managing deadlines, writing articles for the magazine she had been working under; while on the other hand, Mei was often busy as chairwoman of the school her grandfather once ran. The two made sure they spent enough time with their son, while also reminding him the needs they need to fulfill to provide for the family, to make sure he didn't develop any sort of parental neglect.

Hiroki was fully aware of this, and completely understood what both his mothers had told him. However, he would be lying if he said he was satisfied always staying over at either his grandparents' or Aunt Harumin and Matsuri's place. Plus, he hated seeing his mothers overwork themselves sometimes. So, on one summer night, he suggested to have a movie night, just the three of them.

Yuzu thought it was a great idea and viewed it as a good opportunity to introduce him to some of the movies she loved growing up. Mei simply agreed to the suggestion. She hadn't seen many films growing up and completely forgot about them once her life became hectically busy; so, she wouldn't be of much help picking out something good the three of them could enjoy together. Instead, she left the movie-picking to Yuzu.

Glowing with enthusiasm and excitement, the blonde brought out an old box from the closet containing many of her favorite movies from when she was a young child to a teenager. Hiroki hasn't seen many movies for an 8 year-old, so he was prepared to be open to anything Yuzu offered. Unfortunately, the blonde and the young boy didn't expect frustration when simply picking something to watch.

"How about this?" Yuzu asked after pulling out one of the many movies inside.

"No," he said, not even taking three seconds to look at the cover.

"This?" after pulling out another one.

"Not really."

"What about this one?" hoping it would spark some interest in him.

The boy shook his head no until a black cover with a circle layered behind the ominously written title peeked his interest.

"I like this one," Hiroki said picking up the case.

Yuzu looked over and her eyes widened at her son's choice, before nervously looking over to Mei.

"No," Mei flatly said as she took the movie case off his hands. Just looking at the cover made her skin tingle. She definitely remembered watching that particular film with the blonde. In their younger years, Yuzu suggested they watch it together during one of their dates, but little did Mei know the ploy the blonde played at the time. The most the dark-haired woman remembered from that day was curling up into Yuzu's arms while her face was buried deep in her neck.

"It's not age appropriate for you anyway," she pointed out to him.

Hiroki pouted, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince his mother with his puppy dog eyes like he usually would when used on his blonde mother.

After going through what seemed to be the whole box of DVDs, Yuzu groaned to herself. The dark haired boy usually shared some of his blonde mother's taste in things such as food. She could've sworn some of her taste in movies would also rub off on him. There needed to be at least one thing in that box Hiroki would like…

"What about this one?" Mei asked the two of them as she noticed a DVD case with a paper cover. The cover title was pen written on a sheet of white paper slipped inside. When the two looked over, both raised a brow. It didn't look like anything Yuzu recognized and the lackluster cover didn't seem to spark any kind of interest in Hiroki.

Mei opened the case to find a disk with a girl clad in pink clothes as its cover. Yuzu moved over to Mei to take a look inside and it suddenly came back to her.

"Wait, I remember this. I've only seen it once, but my dad at the time brought this from one of his business trips and thought I'd like it."

"Did you like it?" Mei asked.

"I don't remember too much since I've only seen it with my dad," Yuzu explained. She never realized she hid this away for so long. At the time, just looking at the case brought back only tears and sorrow, remembering her late father. But now, it was a simple film forgotten under a cluster of others. She recalled the movie to be slightly scary, but nothing too frightening that would have Mei throw an icy glare at her all throughout the next day.

"What's it about?" upon looking inside the case with both his mothers, the boy's curiosity peaked.

Based on what Yuzu could remember, she told him how it was about a girl who gets lost in the spirit world and has to find her way back home. Along the way she meets some rather interesting and colorful characters. Some friendly, some not so friendly.

"I think there was a dragon in it," she finished explaining. And with that, Hiroki's eyes widened and eagerly took the movie from his mother's hands.

"This one! Can we watch this one?" His eyes were glowing with excitement, the same kind Yuzu had a few moments earlier. Even if she couldn't tell if she'd still like the old film now, Hiroki's bright and begging smile couldn't get her to say no if she wanted to. Plus, she was glad that there was at least something in that box he liked.

"Mei?" Yuzu turned to her wife to see if the choice was okay with her.

Mei simply shrugged in approval. Based on the disk's art, it looked like a family-friendly film. And even though she didn't mind whatever the two picked, she was intrigued to know more about it.

Not long after, the disk was popped in the DVD player and the three settled on the couch to watch the movie together. Their son nestled between them while hugging Kumagorou.

Throughout the film, Yuzu was blown away by the visuals, Hiroki became attached to every character on-screen, and Mei closely followed the narrative.

Yuzu made some occasional commentary here and there while they were watching. Mei couldn't comment much since she was sucked into the story as much as their son was. The amazement Yuzu had surprised her when she found herself talking a whole lot during the movie to the point where Mei and Hiroki had to quietly reprimand her not to be so loud and disruptive.

If only she had shown this to Mei during one of their movie date nights back then.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Hiroki commented as he turned to face his mothers, "wasn't it, Mama?"

He turned to find both his mothers leaning into each other, eyes closed, with Mei's head resting on Yuzu's shoulder. They must have both dozed off near the end of the movie. And while he was slightly disappointed that they both couldn't stay awake until the end, he was still happy that they took time out of their busy schedules for something as simple as a movie night.

Hiroki got up from the couch slowly so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping mothers, placed Kumagorou right in between them, and went to turn off the TV.

The air conditioner must have been doing its job very well because the chill in their apartment made him forget it was still summer. Responding to the drop in temperature, he proceeded to his room to grab a few blankets and returned back to the living room where he clumsily, but carefully draped one of his blankets over his two slumbering parents.

He smiled softly at the sight as Mei nuzzled into Yuzu's neck for warmth. This was probably the most relaxed they felt in months.

Yawning to himself, Hiroki laid on the other couch right by his parents and rested under the covers. He whispered a "goodnight" before his eyelids shut and drifted off into peaceful slumber.

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 **A/N: I also rushed this because I wanted to get working on other ideas I had for this collection.**

 **Oh, and fun fact: Daviegh Chase, the girl from The Ring (the movie Hiroki wanted to watch at first), is the same voice actor for Chihiro from the English dub of Spirited Away (the movie they all ended up watching together).**


	3. New Aunts

"Nnngghh"

"Oh, so you've finally come back to Earth," a voice spoke out.

Yuzu tossed and turned, opening her eyes to find herself on a black couch and with Matsuri's head over her. She got up slowly to find herself in a quiet waiting room. Harumi also happened to be around and gave her a small wave as she approached her.

"What happened?" Yuzu asked as she rubbed her head.

"You passed out while Mei was giving birth," Harumi replied, sitting by the blonde.

"It was honestly kind of hilarious. I mean I told you childbirth is never pretty, but you insisted to watch," Matsuri laughed as she began pulling her phone out, "I even took pictures when the nurses started dragging your useless body out of the room."

Holding up the phone in front of Yuzu's face, Matsuri asked, "you wanna see?"

"No thanks, I-wait...What about Mei? Is she okay?" suddenly having images of her wife in labor.

A nurse walked towards the three, greeting them with the utmost polite formality. She informed them that Mei had finished delivering her child not long ago and that they could come in to see her. Yuzu got up quickly from the news, but the nurse reminded her to be quiet and be careful on her way there.

By the time Yuzu, along with Matsuri and Harumi, got to the front door of Mei' hospital room, Yuzu took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to see. She knew she was going to be a parent the moment Mei accepted she carry their child; but this...this was different. The moment she walk through that door would be the moment she would be fully accepting her role as a mother. It both excited and terrified her.

But right now the only thing on her mind was seeing if Mei was okay.

When she opened the door and stepped inside, Yuzu found her wife resting contently on the hospital bed holding something, or someone, wrapped in a white blanket. She sighed in relief at the sight, while Harumi and Matsuri remained near the doorway.

Afraid of causing any disturbance in the room, the older woman approached carefully and quietly as she could towards Mei. When she did reach the resting woman, Yuzu gently placed her hand on her shoulder and placed a lingering kiss atop her head.

Noticing the contact, Mei slowly opened her eyes and smiled.

"Are you okay?" Mei asked with concern, surprising Yuzu with the question.

"I feel like I should be asking you that question," the blonde pointed out, "you were the one giving birth."

"Yes...but, you were the one who fainted."

The statement made the blonde groan in embarrassment.

"I know, I know," she said before switching to a more apologetic tone, "and I'm sorry for not being there the whole way through."

There was Yuzu again, always taking on all the blame, even when there was none to be taken. Mei just gave her a reassuring smile.

"You're here now. And I think it's time for you to meet someone," she whispered as she turned the bundle of wrapped blankets to reveal a sleeping baby.

The moment she laid eyes on her new son, her eyes began welling up with tears. He looked so small, so content, so fragile, and yet so beautiful. Yuzu had always dreamed of having a family of her own, and while she was standing right there with her wife all while admiring their new son, she couldn't believe it was a possibility.

"Does he have a name yet?" the older woman asked.

"None that I could think of yet, no. I figured you would be better with names than I could."

The thought of one seemed to take a bit too long, and both women wanted to give their son a meaningful, yet fitting name. They knew something would come to them soon.

Yuzu turned her head to the doorway and quietly gestured her two friends standing outside. She saw Harumi remind Matsuri to keep her voice down before they entered.

Harumi felt the fragile atmosphere in the room surround her and was careful enough not to raise her voice or make a sudden wrong move that would cause all hell to break loose. She took a peak, with Matsuri following right behind her, to see what this child looked like.

"He looks just like you," Harumi said referring to Mei, "I'm just wondering how he'll be like Yuzu."

"Well, we'll see," Yuzu sheepishly smiled.

The brunette continued looking at the sleeping baby boy before grinning, "you know Yuzucchi, your son is really lucky. He's gonna have the coolest aunt in the world."

"Why thank you Harumi," Matsuri jumped in, lacking total awareness of how loud she was being, "I know I'll be the coolest aunt this kid will ever have. Can't have him be as stuffy and uptight as his mom."

Both Mei and Harumi simultaneously shot annoyed glares at the smug-looking woman.

"Please don't be a bad influence on my son," Mei admonished.

But who was she kidding? Next to Yuzu, Matsuri almost often never listened to her, especially with that devilishly-looking smile.

Mei sighed and only hoped that her and Yuzu's potential parenting skills would be enough to shield, or at least, compensate for whatever crazy influences their son will be immersed in, in his new family.

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 **A/N: Okay, so I wrote this in one go and I usually never do this, but this little scenario was in my head all day and I just had to get it out somehow. I took some minor influences from a couple Tumblr posts I dug through relating to Citrus. I can only imagine what kind of aunt Matsuri is going to be to Hiroki. Luckily, Harumin is around for damage control lol**


	4. No Hiro

The first time he came home with bruises, he told his mothers he fell.

Yuzu nearly fainted at the sight of her injured son and immediately grabbed every cold item from the fridge to minimize the swelling. She constantly, and understably, probed him with questions on how this happened all while hesitating to place every available ice pack on his bruises in fear of hurting him further.

Apparently, Hiroki had been trying to be the best in his class during physical education, or at least that what he repeatedly told his parents.

Mei grabbed the first-aid kit in the kitchen to tend to his injuries before reprimanding him, "You need to be more careful out there."

"I know," he muttered, but that didn't stop him from coming home again with more bruises.

With each passing day, it seemed as if Hiroki's injuries were only getting worse. And with every interrogation he kept saying the same thing.

 _It's just practice during physical education._

 _We're boys, we get rough on the court._

 _I'm a bit clumsy, don't worry about it._

He knew it was all a lie, and he was hoping his mothers wouldn't catch on.

* * *

While Hiroki was asleep, Yuzu frantically paced the kitchen. Mei stood still, arms crossed, and just watched the other woman let her thoughts fly about. She was just as worried as Yuzu with what's been going on with their son for the past couple of days. However, the grounded part of her mind kept her from panicking as much as the blonde, and did her best to try and calm her wife.

"What if he's getting beaten up at school?" Yuzu threw out as she ran her hands through her hair.

"What if he's getting bullied?" she continued.

"But why would he get bullied? Unless he's getting into fights himself..." she began rambling and moving her hands in several different directions.

"Mei, do you think Hiroki could go through a rebellious phase...because he doesn't live in a normal family? Could that be the reason he's getting beaten up?"

Normal? Since when was anything between the two of them ever normal? It was no secret that their son knew about his mothers being step-sisters. He realized this when he was about 10 years-old, after wondering why he only had one pair of grandparents. While Mei and Yuzu were hesitant on their son discovering the truth behind their relationship, they knew he needed to find out eventually. Keeping him in the dark any longer would've caused some strain, confusion, and possible distance.

Hiroki never minded having two moms, as opposed to having a mother and a father like what other kids had. As a 10 year-old, he couldn't comprehend what his parents meant when he was told his mothers were also siblings. It was a long and painstaking conversation at the dinner table. Much of that conversation, to what the two women remembered, consisted of a list of endless questions from him.

There was reminiscing, but not in the way that was nostalgic or comforting. Despite talking out and going through many of the hardships in their relationship during their younger years, the conversation brought back much of the guilt that Mei thought she was over with. Stealing the first kiss along with many others, manipulation, cold-shoulders...that one arranged marriage. There were days Mei wondered if they would even be together like this if it wasn't for that brash move she pulled on the blonde back when they found out they were step-sisters.

When Yuzu noticed the reminiscing was doing a lot more harm than good, she reassured her that was all over and in the past.

Noticing how loving and supportive his parents always were, he smiled at his mothers saying something along the lines of, they couldn't stand being apart so they married each other. But while their son smiled, they were both wary of the day he would wake up and realize he didn't deserve to have parents like them.

He still talked at the dinner table. He still told them about the things he would do at school; and he would still want to spend time with his family with every chance he could get.

Yet, despite making an effort to pretend things were okay, something about him felt different.

"Mei…?" Yuzu hesitated before continuing, "Do you think our son could be ashamed of having us as his parents?"

With that, Mei walked over to the older woman and held her wrists in place. She looked into Yuzu's eyes, then averted them elsewhere not trusting whatever words were probably going to come out of her mouth. She knew the trials and tribulations of what it meant to be a parent, but she was hoping that those challenges wouldn't come this soon.

"He still interacts with us and seems to act like himself. I...don't think it's something we should worry about," she knew she was an idiot for having those words come out of her mouth.

"Mei, our son came home with a black-eye yesterday and passed it off as someone elbowing him during basketball!" Yuzu managed to maintain her volume, avoiding the possibility of waking Hiroki, "I know nothing about basketball, but I know it's not supposed to get that rough."

They just stood in their kitchen in silence not knowing how to handle the situation. Both women swarmed with thoughts how they could've failed to be the right, or yet, the perfect parents for a 14 year-old boy.

But Mei knew they wouldn't get anywhere if they continued to stand in silent panic like this.

"We'll talk to him tomorrow," she said.

"But how? He won't tell us anything and he'll just keep saying the same thing like always."

"Then we'll talk to his teachers if he won't give us an answer. They'll know more about his life at school than us."

Yuzu regained her composure, only temporarily. A part of her wanted to believe that Hiroki was telling the truth; and then in the end, would just be a hilarious misunderstanding caused by overprotective parents.

But when the two simultaneously got a call from Mitsuko, they both dreaded the worst.

"He what?!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"He beat up some kid during the lunch period," Mitsuko calmly replied as Hiroki remained silent.

He was hoping he wouldn't have to get his Aunt Mitsuko involved. Knowing her, she would've told his parents by the very first day he came home in his pitiful state. If his Aunt Matsuri had only been in charge of the school he was going to, he could've continued to get away with the things he was doing for a week. But now that he was sitting in the principal's office, with both his parents rightfully angry at him and the situation, he was too intimidated and ashamed to say a word in his defense.

"What exactly happened?" Mei spoke up.

Mitsuko actually had no idea what was going on with Hiroki for the past week. Despite keeping a close eye him, she made sure her focus on him wasn't as apparent in order to avoid any accusations of showing favoritism or special treatment. She managed to treat everyone at the school equally.

Every time she attempted to pry anymore information, he kept to himself and didn't budge. She was starting to think she was losing her touch or growing soft. The only thing she knew of that Hiroki was comfortable sharing with her was how he beat up a kid out of anger after saying some nasty things to him.

Yuzu just sighed, thinking of the conversation her and Mei were going to have with their son.

The drive home was awkwardly silent, painfully so. Hiroki still didn't feel comfortable speaking up and he was hoping he could slip into his room and pretend nothing happened. Yuzu thought she could lighten the mood a bit by cracking a few jokes, but she was afraid of the making the atmosphere more uncomfortable than it already was. She looked over to Mei, who was behind the wheel, and could only imagine how she'd be feeling towards him.

Anger? Frustration? Hurt? Shame?

Mei was as calm as usual and didn't say much aside from asking a few questions. When she got the call from Mitsuko about Hiroki's incident, she simply left work and proceeded to his school, all while her phone blew up with missed calls and texts from Yuzu.

By the time they all got home, Hiroki kicked off his shoes, still not giving a word about anything. He figured his parents were disappointed in him and didn't feel like discussing anything further. He made his way towards his room until-

"Where do you think you're going?" Mei asked sternly.

Hiroki sighed, "I'm a bit tired...I'm just going to go to sleep," he really didn't want to talk now.

" _Hiroki_ ," the way his mother said his name both made him and Yuzu flinch.

"Hiroki, please listen to your mother," Yuzu pleaded, hoping an argument wouldn't burst from the potential tension in the room.

Hiroki turned to face his mothers, hiding his timidness behind an indifferent expression.

"Sit down," Mei motioned him over to the couch.

He trudged over while Mei and Yuzu sat with him. Both of them looked at him while he kept his head down and refused to make much eye contact.

There were no words spoken allowed. The silence settled in, giving Hiroki time to think of what to say and how to say it.

"You didn't get hurt because of physical education, did you?" Yuzu broke the silence.

Hiroki hesitated for a moment before replying, "Well...I was telling the truth at first."

"Then, what happened?" Yuzu asked softly, "why have you been coming home all beaten up? What's going on at school?"

"I…"

He went on to explain how the first day he came home with bruises, he got caught in a rough game of basketball during physical education. The second day, things were different.

A couple of Hiroki's classmates came running from some kids who didn't seem to come from their school. Fearing for their lives, they hid behind him, hoping he would protect them. He took on the role as their defender and this continued for about two days. Hiroki wouldn't say he was the best fighter, but he knew he was decent enough to knock some teeth out.

He actually didn't mean for it to last more than a day. He thought after trying to scare the bullies off, they would leave him and his classmates alone. But they kept coming back each time. And he didn't feel comfortable having to call his parents to take him home themselves knowing he'd be leaving his friends behind to deal with those bullies alone.

By the fifth day, his friends got the memo and chose not to walk home the route they usually take, leaving Hiroki by himself. When he ran into the bullies again, he was willing to take the punches despite defending himself.

They apparently realized who he was, the Aihara Academy chairwoman's son, and things only got worse from there. After some nasty remarks about his parents, he threw a couple fists only to get a black-eye in the end.

"I lied about the thing at school to Aunt Mitsuko…" he confessed, "I didn't beat up a kid because he provoked me. He didn't do anything wrong. I just...panicked. I thought I heard someone say something to me, something bad. And then I lost control, and then everything went black."

Mei sighed, both with displeasure and, oddly, with relief, "Why didn't you say anything at first?"

"Because I thought I could handle it. And I did...sort of. I just didn't want you two to worry."

"But look where that got you."

Hiroki didn't respond.

"What were you thinking?" her stern voice dissipated and was replaced with concern and worry.

"I just wanted to help them. My friends, I mean. I wasn't going to run away from that. And yeah, I could've followed them home a different way, but I didn't want those guys to win, so I went home my usual way by myself."

Yuzu and Mei just listened intently at his explanation.

"And then...I don't know how they know...about you two, I mean. They know about you being the head of the school you inherited," he said as he faced Mei, "I didn't care what they said about me, but I couldn't stand the things they were saying about you two. I thought someone at school was saying the same thing, and then…"

Hiroki tried to hide his embarrassment for punching an innocent classmate, but in the midst of escaping the confusion, Mitsuko caught him red-handed.

"I didn't mean to…and I'm sorry if I disappointed you," Hiroki apologized.

"You did disappoint us," Mei stated authoritatively.

"Hey, Mei!" Yuzu was about to argue against the remark she made but before she could, Mei put a hand up to stop her.

Mei looked up at the ceiling and sighed before continuing, "There was a point in my life where I thought I could do everything alone. I didn't want people to help me. I don't know if it was out of stubborn pride or just not wanting to feel helpless, but it took me awhile for me to realize that handling everything myself unintentionally hurt the people I care about," she looked over to Yuzu.

"You weren't trying to be a hero. You were just hurting everyone around you, including yourself," she declared looking back to Hiroki.

"I used to think I could do anything alone, but I realized I wouldn't be able to do all the things I can without you or your mother," Mei put a hand on his shoulder and looked over to him, "Hiroki, we're not just people who simply watch over you and provide for you. We're your parents and I want you to trust us with anything troubling you. Can you do that?"

Hiroki turned to look at Yuzu, then towards Mei, as tears welled up in his eyes. He didn't want to talk about what he was going through, not because it made him feel weak, but because it hurt so much having to replay what happened.

"Yes," he answered holding back a sob.

The two women comforted him as they sat on the couch. They allowed him to let out all his emotions he'd been bottling up for the past few days.

In between sobs, he mentioned to them how he had the feeling they were worried about him being ashamed of them being his parents. Despite having some doubts, he reassured his mothers he wouldn't want to be with any other parents and that he loved them very much.

* * *

Once Hiroki had gone to bed, both Yuzu and Mei looked at him with a soft expression, relieved that his pain subsided.

"It's funny," Yuzu chuckled, "he's starting to remind me a lot of you."

When she turned to face the other woman, she found Mei heading towards the living room couch. She sat down and buried her hands in her hair as Yuzu followed and sat beside her.

The incident with Hiroki must have really taken a toll on her. She was always good at managing and maintaining her distress, but right now, Mei felt like she was going to overflow.

"Mei?" she said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Without looking up, she mumbled, "I messed up…"

Yuzu's eyes widened at Mei's comment,"What do you mean? You didn't mess up."

Mei sat up straighter and turned to face Yuzu, "Didn't mess up? I should've done something the moment he came home looking like...like that. But I continued to buy his facade."

She ran her hand through her hair in frustration at her failings.

"Can you even imagine what would've happened to our son if Mitsuko didn't call us? We're lucky those kids, wherever they're from, didn't do anything worse to him," Mei sighed in defeat and leaned against the couch, draping an arm over her face,"if he's becoming more like me, then I've been a terrible mother."

Yuzu imitated Mei's gesture and leaned against the couch, quietly staring at their ceiling as her hands were folded against her stomach.

"Mei, do you remember what I told you back then?"

"About Hiroki?" removing her arm from her face.

Yuzu shook her head, "Way before that."

When Mei couldn't figure out what Yuzu was referring to, Yuzu continued, "it's something I've told you, that you told Hiroki, and now I'm telling you again. I told you that we're a team, and that goes the same for our family. Neither of us have to go through anything alone. That applies to Hiroki, to me, and especially to you," poking a finger at Mei's forehead.

She was right, and she felt like she needed to eat those words of wisdom she offered to Hiroki earlier. She always felt her current parenting skills would backfire, but if she continued to berate herself about that in front of Yuzu, she'd receive a scolding from her.

Right now, she felt like Hiroki, receiving a lecture from his mother.

"Don't feel like you have to take the all blame on yourself, Mei. If we mess up, then that means we messed up together," it was probably a rather unpleasant joke she made. Yuzu mentally berated herself for that possibility, but one thing was for certain, they haven't messed up yet.

After everything they've been through in the past, they thought they could deal with any other hardships that could come their way. But those were things were between them. Having a kid around was completely different.

The reality was, they're still learning.

* * *

 **A/N:** *Sigh* I'm really not ready for whatever is coming in the next chapter in a couple days. I'm gonna do my best with my self-control and stay away from canon for a bit until there are enough chapters I can glide through lol. I suddenly remembered how the month of November gets really hectic and busy for me because the semester is ending soon, so I'm probably going to drop into the abyss for a bit.

Anyway, I had an extremely difficult time writing this and it only made me hate the English language even more. But this was a scenario I've been thinking of for a bit when I started this collection a few weeks ago and it was a challenge to write how Yuzu and Mei would act like parents when situations like these happen. I didn't like how it's been sitting in my doc for over 2 weeks so I was compelled to finish and get it out there some way. This was also a culmination of ideas loosely inspired from ch. 41 of angel0wonder's citrus schtuffs, watching Mindful Education (Steven Universe) the other day, and listening to Here Comes a Thought on repeat for a week. So, I hope this chapter was enjoyable in some way, shape, or form :)


	5. Routine

**A/N:** I know nothing about how certain professions work so I could be wrong about the way I'm writing about their careers.

* * *

They say old habits die hard, and a strict routine pattern keeps one from truly emerging.

At a certain age, Mei would disagree with that statement. A routine pattern of living was a necessity. It was something she thought gave her a some sense of direction.

But ever since she met Yuzu, the word 'routine' was sometimes lost in translation.

"Mei, I was wondering where you wanted to go tomorrow?" the blonde asked enthusiastically as she sat down their dining table.

The question raised a brow on the dark-haired woman before replying. "What do you mean? Tomorrow I'm helping the school plan and add new facilities."

Yuzu's face fell at the nonchalant statement as the other woman didn't notice.

"Is that tomorrow? I thought you said you cleared everything you were doing this week?"

"It's really important for the school and I need to be there," Mei declared casually, "I don't see what the big deal about tomorrow is anyway. Your birthday isn't for another three months and it can't be our anniversary since that was a few months ago."

"Oh, I just figured you would remember," Yuzu said lowly.

Mei looked up towards the blonde and sat in silence with her tea mug in hand. What exactly was tomorrow? It was just another ordinary day as part of her daily routine of: wake up, breakfast, work, go home, spend time with Yuzu, dinner, then sleep, before continuing the cycle again. If it was something as important as her birthday or wedding anniversary, surely, her of all people would remember.

But Yuzu kept eying the other woman, hoping she would get some realization or find out that Mei was joking the entire time and actually remembered the plans they had for tomorrow.

Mei just kept staring back in silence and confusion.

"Nevermind," Yuzu sighed in disappointment before putting up a nervous smile, "I should've known how busy you were this week."

"Yuzu…"

"But don't worry about it!" Yuzu waved her hands in front as to dispel any guilt creeping in from the other woman, "it's my fault. I kept silent about it this whole week and I know how stressed you can get about work, so don't worry about it. Besides, to be honest it's not that big of a deal. It's okay!" she added optimistically.

But it wasn't okay, and Mei could sense the lingering disappointment the blonde was trying to hide.

"Right…" Mei said as she set her mug on the table, "will you excuse me for a moment?"

And with that she got up from the table and headed towards their bedroom. She closed the door behind her and sat down on the bed thinking to herself why the next day was so important.

Why was it even such a big deal? She always, or at least tried to remember everything when it came to Yuzu.

The phone on the nightstand buzzed, snapping Mei out of deep thought. She grabbed it to see what other problems the school needed help with.

She let out an exasperated sigh, preparing for whatever the staff needed her to take care of. As much as Mei valued the school, there was only so much she could handle. It was hard enough being the student council president during her early years, but being the head of the academy was a completely different level.

From managing teachers, declining dress-code reforms, and dealing with changing the policy of an all-girls' to co-ed school, the school was pretty much running her to the ground. And now she had to worry about new buildings and facilities that would be added on campus.

Despite being the well put-together chairwoman of Aihara Academy, she really wasn't in the mood to deal with any issues the school was going through right now. But she did promise to look after it after her grandfather; it couldn't be helped.

Opening up her phone, her eyes widened as she stared at the reminder on the glaring screen.

Tomorrow wasn't just any ordinary day. Yuzu recently got a promotion from the magazine company she had been working under for three years. She got the job offer a year before her and Mei married and settled in. And while the blonde complained at first for the kinds of menial tasks she was subjected under as a rookie, Mei reassured that enough hard work and dedication would allow her to rise up the ranks to a position she deserved. Yuzu just needed to earn such a position first.

After three long years, she went from assisting the editor-in-chief to being the editor-in-chief. She jumped around from different positions over the few years: proofreader, art director, production manager, etc., but now she was one of the top people in charge. It felt almost daunting to the blonde, at first. But regardless, she was glad her hard work paid off.

While Mei didn't exactly show it, she was proud of Yuzu's efforts and suggested they should celebrate, despite the older woman's modesty and treating it like no big deal. Mei eventually wore her down after insisting countless times, to which Yuzu enthusiastically agreed upon.

It was usually rare that Yuzu would make Mei proud or impressed in some way. Or at least, that's what the blonde felt. So, naturally, being spoiled by Mei for reasons other than being her significant other meant a lot more for her.

Mei promised she would clear her schedule to make time with Yuzu, but then the renovations and additions to the school came up.

Then she got sucked into work.

And forgot about a celebration she originally insisted and planned for.

She mentally kicked herself for almost falling back to her high school days and letting work prioritize over the blonde. And, of course, Yuzu blamed herself for something she didn't have any responsibility for.

Falling back on the bed, Mei sighed and ran her hands down her face. How could she be such an idiot?

A realization hit her as she suddenly snapped up from the bed. It wasn't exactly too late. After all, it wasn't tomorrow yet, and she could play off her forgetfulness as part of some grand plan she had for the other woman.

But she barely had anything set up for her and Yuzu, and she wasn't the kind to half-ass something together at the last minute, especially not this. She needed a plan and fast.

* * *

Yuzu rolled over on the bed. She began feeling the other side and noticed she had more space than usual.

 _Oh right_ , she thought to herself. Mei was probably at the school by now. So much for a warm morning.

The blonde sighed as she stared at the empty half of the bed. Mei was the one who wanted to do something together, and Yuzu was so excited she requested a day-off and cancelled lunch with Harumi. She felt like a child for being slightly disappointed in her wife forgetting about today.

Perhaps she should have said something rather than bottle up and saving her excitement? Then again, she waved it off and told Mei not to worry about anything.

It wasn't so bad, as Yuzu tried to find a bright side to this. The whole day could be used for herself. She didn't wake up to an annoying alarm. Her day-off would give her more time to rest from her hectic duties. And maybe she'd be able to spend some time with Harumi later despite cancelling.

Resting back down under the covers, Yuzu allowed herself to continue sleeping before starting the day.

Before she had a chance to close her eyes, she heard the bedroom door open. Yuzu got up and widened her eyes at the sight before her.

Mei was standing at the doorway holding a tray of some of Yuzu's favorite food with a glass of orange juice on the side.

"Um...good morning," Mei nervously greeted.

"Mei, what are you doing here? I thought you left for work this morning?" she said as Mei sat down beside her and set the tray carefully on the older woman's lap.

"It turns out I'm not needed at the school for renovations for a couple days. So, we have the entire day to ourselves," the dark-haired woman replied coolly, "besides, I wouldn't forget about our day together."

Mei's plan seemed like it was working. Though, she wasn't sure how to feel lying about forgetting the day before. But Yuzu seemed happy enough looking at both her and the food she made.

It seemed like her routine was going according to plan. First, she'd start off with breakfast in bed, followed by a walk in the park, and maybe even go to the mall and get Yuzu whatever she fancied. There was probably a little more that Mei couldn't remember. She wasn't exactly a very romantic person, but she had everything she needed for a perfect day within certain notebook she was keeping somewhere for reference.

"Sorry," Yuzu gave a sheepish smile as she scratched the back of her head.

"What for?" Mei was surprised at the sudden apology from the other woman.

"I love all of this, Mei. I really do, but I can't help feel like I got in the way of something important you had today."

Mei just frowned at the unwarranted apology. Why did Yuzu have to be like this?

"I should be apologizing," Mei sighed, "I did forget, and I'm so sorry. I did have everything planned out before, but then the school and all these other things came up. I got so busy, I almost forgot about you…" words began flying out at an alarming rate.

"If it wasn't for the reminder on my phone, I probably would be at the school right now. And I tried to come up with something for today, but I don't know if it's good enough. Again, I'm so-"

Before Mei knew it, Yuzu grabbed the front of shirt and silenced her with a kiss, careful not to spill any of the contents on the tray.

They broke apart shortly after while Mei blinked in surprise, unsure of what just happened.

"Why did you do that?"

"Well…I figured it was an effective way to shut you up," Yuzu teased. She sat up straighter on the bed before continuing. "I'm glad you remembered, but I got a bit too excited for whatever you were planning since this is the first time I've ever impressed you. I guess I tried not to make today a big deal since you've always spoiled me before."

The dark-haired woman sighed contently and placed her hand above Yuzu's, gently caressing her thumb over her knuckles.

"Yuzu, you always impress me," Mei softly smiled, "why do you think I married you?"

Yuzu blushed at the comment. Oftentimes, Mei always had an effect on her, but she never realized the effect she had on Mei.

She loved all the efforts Mei put into dedicating time for her, and while she would have enjoyed the plans she set up for the two of them, Yuzu didn't exactly feel like following any of that.

"You said you wanted to dedicate time for me today, right?" the blonde said as she wrapped her arms around Mei's neck.

Mei knew exactly what message Yuzu was communicating with those eyes. The hunger, the want.

"Yeah, but…" she managed while putting the tray out of the way.

"It's like you said, we have the whole day ahead of us," Yuzu kissed her once, twice, "besides...schedules are kind of overrated anyway."

Of course, Yuzu would say that. But Mei would be lying if she said she was unsatisfied with the sudden change in plans.

* * *

At some point in her life, Mei believed Yuzu would keep her from her path; divert her from the routine she accepted would be her whole life.

Looking back, that old routine of her's was devoid of any color, any substance. She lived as a mindless drone almost everyday of her teenage years and couldn't imagine any other way her life would look like.

While Mei first saw the blonde as a nuisance, Yuzu slowly brought that color she never realized was missing. In time, Mei slowly warmed up to the blonde's presence. She would even say that Yuzu was her routine now, and that was something she was happily content with.

"Mei, I was wondering…" Yuzu trailed off, unsure how to continue the conversation. She had been rehearsing for weeks in front of Harumi in preparation for what she was about to say to her wife.

Mei just looked at her patiently, coffee mug in hand.

"Yes?"

"Um...I know we've never really talked about it much before. And there's no pressure! But I was wondering," Yuzu stumbled on her words and took a deep breath.

"Take your time," Mei was simply curious towards whatever the older woman wanted to say. Surely, she would be prepared for any spontaneous thing in Yuzu's mind.

"I was wondering…" she hesitated at first, then let the words slip out. "Let's start a family."

Except that.

The younger woman choked on her coffee. She thought she was used to a routine with Yuzu, but with the last thing she said, that might change the routine up just a bit.

* * *

 **A/N:** I often get super frustrated with my writing, but then the back of my head just tells me I won't really get any better unless I keep going, so here's more stuff for you readers out there. Right now, I'm using fanfic writing as an escape from these stressful last few weeks of the semester. I just want it to end SOON.

Oh, and on a sidenote, to the guest who said Mei and Yuzu should've come up with a name prior to Hiroki's birth, I wrote that chapter in less than 20 minutes (barely proofread) and had no idea how to write a sentimental moment during the naming process. I briefly remembered the meaning to his name when I looked up names before starting this collection. It could either mean big/great, brightness/tree, which I guess goes with his character (that I'm still figuring out). I think Okogi, Yuzu's original surname, means tree so I sorta kinda played upon that. You could also say that Hiroki is the brightness to Mei and Yuzu's lives. Eyyy, but that's just me being cheesy ;D


	6. Breakfast in the Morning

In her younger years, Mei would often wake to an empty house, prepare herself for the day, deal with the other students at school, come home, rinse and repeat. Back then, that was her reality and often found it an inconvenience whenever Yuzu dragged her to a nearby store on the way home from school or some other thing Mei found a waste of her time. To her, life was only about nothing but work.

But over time, Mei learned how to step back and appreciate the smaller moments in life.

She woke up to an empty side of the bed. Wondering where her sleeping companion could be, Mei felt the other side until she opened one eye to reveal Yuzu wasn't there.

Mei pouted silently to herself finding that she had to wake up to the chill of their room. She was hoping Yuzu would give her the much needed warmth she always craved every morning. Though, she was little surprised; between the two of them, Yuzu wasn't exactly an early riser.

The dark-haired woman turned to her nightstand to check the time on her phone.

7:02

Only about an hour left until she had to be at the school. However, Mei couldn't waste more time. Another second in bed and she'd ruin her punctuality record as the new chairwoman. It had only been two weeks since she officially took over. She couldn't set a bad example now.

She stretched her arms over her head and craned her neck to relieve any tension. As soon as Mei got up from bed, she smelled a familiar, mouth-watering aroma.

Yuzu's cooking.

Mei thought that Yuzu had already left for work, unless the blonde really did take her time getting prepared for the day.

After getting herself dressed in her professional attire, Mei walked in the kitchen to find Yuzu in front the stove humming to herself while preparing something on a frying pan. She must've been heavily preoccupied making breakfast as she she didn't notice Mei approaching her from behind.

Instead of sitting at the dining table, Mei carefully hugged Yuzu from behind by the waist and rested her chin on her shoulder, causing the blonde to release a soft squeak upon contact. She knew the possibilities of the stove burning either of them on accident, but Mei thought this could make up for the cold awakening earlier.

"Morning, Mei," Yuzu greeted before placing a kiss on the side of her head. "You must be hungry, I'm almost finished with breakfast!"

"What are you making?" Mei asked as she took a glimpse at the contents of the frying pan.

"Your favorite," she smiled, "...omurice. You should probably sit down soon. Breakfast is almost ready."

But Mei let out a small whimper as she buried her face in Yuzu's neck, unwilling to let her go.

"Someone's a bit greedy today~," Yuzu murmured softly.

"I didn't take you as an early morning person," Mei replied while facing the blonde. She reluctantly released her hold on Yuzu as she began setting up breakfast.

"Well, that's 'cause I had to make these," gesturing to the small lunch containers at the center of the dining table. Mei blinked in surprise as she sat down, wondering what they were for. "I figured since you said you were going to be really busy today, I decided to prepare you a huge lunch."

 _She would make a good wife one day_ , Mei thought to herself. "You really didn't have to-"

"But I wanted to," Yuzu cut in and began approaching Mei from behind, "you'll need all the support you can get as the new head of the school, _Chairwoman Aihara_." She grinned emphasizing the last part and started massaging the younger woman's shoulders, causing her to melt under her girlfriend's working fingers.

After the two of them finished with breakfast, Mei gathered all her necessary belongings together and headed for the front door.

"Oh, by the way!" Yuzu reminded while she placed the dishes in the sink, "don't worry about groceries. I'll get them after work today." Mei silently nodded, then reached for the knob. She hesitated slightly, then turned to face the blonde with an unwavering gaze. It didn't take long for the older woman to notice.

After a silent exchange, Yuzu looked at her with concern and confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Nothing was wrong, but at the same time something didn't entirely feel right. Without saying anything, Mei unconsciously began walking over to Yuzu and wrapped her arms around her in a hug, much to the older woman's surprise.

"Thank you, Yuzu." Not that Yuzu was complaining receiving this affection from the younger woman, but the sudden thankful gesture seemed a bit uncharacteristic for something as simple as making her lunch. Nonetheless, she wrapped her arms around Mei, returning the hug.

But it wasn't just thanking Yuzu for the meal. To Mei, it was gratitude for everything the blonde gave her. Gratitude for putting up with her for all those years. Gratitude for staying by her side no matter how difficult or frustrating she got. It was quite a feat, actually, that anyone was able to break past her ice cold walls. With her frustrating personality and mannerisms, she thought she would continue to live a life of stone-cold isolation for the rest of her life.

Yet, here she was, sharing the same modest apartment, sharing breakfast, sharing everything with the one person she loved the most, and loved her in return. Even after years of dating, Mei was still processing that this was her new reality.

After a few moments passed, the younger woman slightly pulled away from the hug to give Yuzu a kiss on the forehead, "I'll be home before dinner tonight."

Yuzu softly chuckled from the gesture, then pressed her lips on Mei's. The kiss was chaste. Short and sweet. And when the older woman broke from contact, she tucked a strand of hair behind Mei's ear before saying, "have a good day at work."

Mei smiled and kissed her again. As much as she loved Yuzu's cooking, in this moment breakfast never tasted sweeter.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know that this technically takes place shortly before they get married, but I figured it still fit in the context of this fic so I put in it anyway. I was craving some domestic fluff between these two and came up with this; I probably have more in mind later, especially with Hiroki, but I kinda just write these based on the first thing that comes up in my mind. At this point, I think it's safe to say that pretty much everything here is out of order ^^;

Anyway, as always, hope you guys enjoyed~


	7. Clarity

**A/N:** Direct follow up to the last chapter. Barely any proofreading done on this. Plus I think this might be the sappiest fic I've written so beware.

Enjoy~

* * *

The first time she was called into the chairman's office, Yuzu was scolded for the manga she once tried to use to get closer to Mei.

The last time she was called into that office, she wasn't even a student.

It was around 8 in the evening when she got a call from Mei. Apparently she needed help with some things at the school and told her to meet in the chairman-no, the chairwoman's office.

Yuzu was slightly confused when she got that call from Mei. She knew the younger woman would be very busy today taking care of the school, but what could she possibly help Mei with in her professional life? She barely could do much as a student back when Mei was the student-council president. And Yuzu couldn't tell if she was imagining it, but she could've sworn she heard slight trembling and hesitation in her girlfriend's voice through the phone.

The tone worried the blonde to no end and immediately dashed out their apartment as soon as the call ended. It's not like there was too much to worry about, as Yuzu tried to rationalize. Over the past few years, the emotionally closed off girl Yuzu once knew in the past had blossomed into an honest, tender, and even happy young woman. If anything, Mei would try to tell her if anything was wrong, no matter how difficult it was for her to express her true feelings about something.

But Mei did say she would be home before dinner. Instead, she left a rather vague message to the blonde telling her to meet her in the office of the school.

A million thoughts rushed in Yuzu's mind.

As soon as the older woman approached the door of the chairwoman's office, she anticipated for any possibilities of what was to come. The dimmed lights throughout the hallways and the fact the campus was closed didn't make the atmosphere any better for her. What could be so important for Mei to call her to the school-in the office, for that matter?

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Yuzu knocked on the mahogany door.

"Come in," she heard from behind the door.

Yuzu slowly opened the door and peeked her head in. There was no other light but the moonlight shining through the big glass window across the desk. Mei was sitting at her desk, glowing under that light.

Without any words, Yuzu entered the office and gently closed the door behind her.

She waited for Mei to say something, particularly an explanation to why she needed to be here of all places.

After a brief moment of silence, Mei played a piano tune from her phone, stood up from her desk, and began approaching Yuzu.

"I'm...glad you could make it," she said as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.

Unconsciously, Yuzu took that as a cue to slide her arms up to Mei's shoulders and then around her neck. Their hips swayed to the melody playing in the room. One going forward, one moving back. Neither of them directly taking the lead, but melding as one.

Yuzu leaned her forehead to touch Mei's, then brought her chin to rest against her shoulder, prompting the black-haired woman to pull her in closer.

After a few minutes processing the situation, the blonde smiled and sighed with relief. She thought Mei called her in for some sort of emergency.

"You know you scared me for a moment," Yuzu softly began, "I thought you were being held hostage or something," she joked.

"I'm...sorry for making you worried," Mei laughed sheepishly.

A quiet moment passed before Yuzu spoke. "You're acting rather romantic today."

"Am I not allowed to be?" the younger woman curiously asked.

Yuzu shook her head while they continued their dance, "no, that's not it. I love this. And...not that I'm complaining or anything, but we could've done something like this at home. Why here?"

The music stopped, almost as if on cue. Mei released her hold on the blonde then went to face the large window, both hands firmly placed on the desk.

"For years, I believed that inheriting my grandfather's school was everything I ever wanted," she began, "it was what I thought I needed...and the only thing that kept me going in life."

Yuzu stood from a distance as she listened intently.

"But after two weeks being in charge, Mei continued, "I remember standing in what was once my grandfather's office and realizing this was never truly a dream of mine. Just a duty, an obligation."

The last statement concerned the blonde. Perhaps Mei had been concealing stress about some growing uncertainty involving her new position?

It couldn't be that, Yuzu thought as she mentally shook her head. As much as Mei learned to break free from the shackles of familial obligations, it was of her own volition to take up the responsibility as head of Aihara Academy.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Mei turned around to face Yuzu and began walking up to her. She placed a hand on Yuzu's shoulder. Her free hand trembled as she cupped the blonde's face, amethyst eyes gazing into emerald ones.

"Mei?" the trembling hands. She had seen them before. It was something that often came up when Mei was under extreme stress or anxiety. Yuzu placed a hand over the one on her face in an attempt to calm her down.

Mei took a deep breath, causing the trembling to subside a little.

"Taking over this school was never a dream of mine, because…" she hesitated for a moment, unsure how she should continue, "because I've come to realize that you are my new dream."

Yuzu's eyes widened at the confession.

"...and I promise to be the one person you'll always deserve. That's why I ask…" Mei trailed off before getting down on one knee and pulled out, what Yuzu noticed was, a ring from her pocket. "Will you stay by my side forever?"

The blonde couldn't comprehend the sight before her. A few hours earlier she panicked, anticipating what Mei needed to talk with her about. Now it all made sense.

No wonder Mei sounded nervous through the phone. The planning, the preparation...between the two of them, Yuzu knew Mei had a more difficult time trying to be the more romantic one in the relationship. If anything, she knew her girlfriend would be fretting over perfecting this moment. She had a million scenarios play out in her head how she would propose to Mei, and yet Mei beat her to it.

It was a rather funny thought, in retrospect.

But regardless of whether or not things went as planned, this moment couldn't be anymore perfect than it was now.

Before Yuzu realized it, hot tears began spilling down her cheeks.

"You idiot," unable to keep the wide grin from her face, "what do you think I've been doing this whole time?"

Mei smiled and Yuzu extended her hand for the other woman to slip the ring on her finger. It was almost deja vu. To think that only a couple years ago, Yuzu had done the same thing with the promise rings she bought.

Yuzu pulled the dark-haired woman up to stand, then kissed her with all the desire and passion through her lips. They both pulled back for air and stared into each other's eyes. No words needed to be exchanged for what both of them wanted. They kissed again, and again. Each one drawing out more pent up desire than the last.

What was originally meant to be a brief moment, prolonged to a heated encounter. The blonde held up Mei's hands, intertwining their fingers all while she pushed the dark-haired woman towards the wooden desk.

Mei's back made contact against the edge, prompting Yuzu to gently lay her across the desk, lips still locked. She broke the kiss for both of them to catch their breath and loosened her threaded fingers to bring her hands to bury themselves in Mei's hair.

Yuzu brought her forehead to make contact with Mei's, savouring the moment. There was no other light in the room but the moonlight shining through the window. It made them seem like the only two people in the world.

Nothing else mattered. Time was nonexistent.

She then moved her head down under Mei's chin, planting butterfly kisses on her neck. Mei's breath hitched in her throat, shutting her eyes from the encompassing arousal. Her breath came out as more as shallow and heavy.

With a rational brain, Mei would've thought what they were doing was beyond inappropriate. But that same brain rationalized it was after school hours, and this was her office now after all.

Yuzu pulled away, hovering over Mei's face, admiring the flushed, panting mess under her. When the other woman noticed Yuzu's halted movements, she opened her eyes and asked, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," the blonde chuckled before burying her face in Mei's neck, "I just...I can't believe you're all mine."

She heard Mei laugh a bit and felt a hand stroking her golden locks. It didn't take long before Yuzu heard,

"I feel like I should be the one saying that."

* * *

 **A/N:** I know this was a rather quick update to this collection, but because I was scared of what the new chapter has to offer in a few days I wrote this as a buffer against it lol. And yeah, yeah I know I stole a quote from Tangled, but I couldn't help myself. I feel like after all the significant drama in their lives have passed, once Mei finally realizes what she wants in her life, it kinda does sound like something she would say to Yuzu. I also feel like I messed up on the makeout scene, hence why I never write anything too suggestive lol

Welp, time to wait for that new chapter~


	8. The Three

Before they decided to have a family, Mei had often told Yuzu her worries, wondering if she could ever provide the care or wisdom their kids would need as they grow older. There was at least one time she could recall where their son, Hiroki asked her about love, but other than that, much of the questions he would sometimes ask would be better worded by Yuzu.

Since her father wasn't always around to be a parent, and her grandfather was no more than a strict authority figure, Mei had no previous parental figures to look back on who could possibly help her how to be not only a good parent, but also a loving one. She always had her step-mother, and Ume was more than willing to provide helpful tips and advice on raising her and Yuzu's son. But even though she was appreciative of all the help she received from Yuzu and her step-mother, Mei wondered if her own experiences growing up would ever be useful advice for their children.

Although it was mostly Hiroki who would ask the most questions, Mei didn't know if she could provide the answers he would need, and would often rely on Yuzu when it came to the much deeper questions that would pop up in his mind.

"Hiroki?" Mei called out as she searched their apartment. "Where did he go?"

Yuzu perked up from the kitchen while their youngest child, Anzu, was fiddling with her utensils as she waited for dinner.

"You said he was just with you few minutes ago," she she said while keeping her eyes on her cooking. She turned her head towards Mei, who was looking in the most unlikely places he could be. Under the table, beneath the couch-noticing Mei's search efforts, Yuzu smirked, "don't tell me I need to give you the baby leash."

Rolling her eyes at Yuzu's playful comment, Mei flatly responded, "he's a 9 year-old boy, Yuzu. Not a toddler. And where would he even disappear to within such a short amount of time?" she ran her hands in her hair and sighed in frustration, "I already had one kid run away, I don't need another one to do that because of me."

Yuzu lowered her eyes, trying to think of a response that could keep her wife from blaming herself even further. But no matter how many reassurances the older woman gave her, it wasn't enough to keep her from seeing that guilt-ridden face Yuzu would see every now and then.

It had been about a week since their oldest son ran away from home. Luckily, the family's worries were immediately eased after receiving a call from Harumin telling them Hikaru would be staying at their place for a bit to think.

"You sure he's not just hiding in his room?" Yuzu genuinely asked.

"I checked the whole place Yuzu," Mei pointed out, a bit of exhaustion laced in her voice, "I'm beginning to wonder if he snuck out while you two weren't looking."

"He's on the roof," Anzu confessed, causing Mei and Yuzu to simultaneously look at her. "He said he wanted to go there to think."

A wave of relief washed over Mei after realizing Hiroki wasn't out too far, then crossed her arms and gave Yuzu a deadpan glare, "so he did sneak out while you weren't looking."

Yuzu scratched the back of her head sheepishly as she was penetrated by her scolding glare.

"It won't happen again, I promise!"

Mei didn't exactly quite believe her. "If I ever need to leave for a business trip, I'm buying you at least 5 more child leashes. An emergency one for Anzu, and 2 of each for Hiroki and Hikaru."

Yuzu simply groaned, recalling the memory of when she accidentally lost sight of Anzu at a shopping mall. It was just one time, Yuzu tried to explain to Mei. But when Anzu repeatedly kept walking out and about without Yuzu's knowledge, Mei thought buying a child leash would be a better option, especially for times she couldn't always be around to supervise.

Mei's expression softened, directing her focus to concern for their son, "I'm going to go check up on him." She was about to approach the doorway until a reminder popped up in her head. Heading straight back to their bedroom, Mei pulled out the child leash she once bought for Yuzu and handed it to her before leaving, "please keep a close eye on Anzu while I'm gone."

"It's not always me who loses the kids," Yuzu grumbled as she took the thing from Mei's hands.

* * *

 **A/N:** Yo yo yo, I'm back again to throw more ideas for this collection. This time with two more kids O.o Anzu belongs to the wonderful angel0wonder, and Hikaru belongs to lunarjumper on Tumblr. We once collabed on what Mei and Yuzu's family would be like and lunarjumper decided to add in her OC and wanted to make her's and mine brothers, and then angel0wonder thought, "hEY why not add a daughter in there too" XD So...here they are. The Aihara-Okogi family.

Mei and Yuzu are gonna need to recharge a lot having to raise 3 kids lol

Sorry about the length. There was actually a lot more to this I had planned but I cut it off because I accidentally started making Hikaru and Hiroki's relationship as brothers similar to Mei and Yuzu's...and well...I had a long talk about this with mizutanitony and angel0wonder (except angel0wonder just kept laughing a lot lol). But I kinda kept the whole "Hikaru" runs away thing because I was planning on doing something with that later once I can get around to writing a different version of this fic. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed my random update drop lmao


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